Last



A. NACESKI I 2,111,512

LAST

Filed Feb. 1. 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ch '15, $938. 'A. NACESKI 2,111,512

LAST

, Filed Feb. 1, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VENTOR,

ATTORNEK Patented Mar. 15, 1938 LAST Austin Na ceski, Nashua, N. 11.,assignor to J. F.

McElwain (30., Sufiolk County, Mass, a corporation of MassachusettsApplication February 1, 1936, Serial No. 61,902

6 Claims.

The operation of securing a heel to a shoe usually isperformed in aheeling machine which drives simultaneously all of the nails requiredfor this purpose. At the timethis operation is *5 performed the shoecustomarily is on the last on which it was made. The heeling machine,includes gaging devices for positioning the shoe heel properlywithreference to the nail plate, and also is equipped with a jack'postmechanism carrying a jack pin for entering the thimble on the last andassisting in centering the-heel end of the shoe with reference to thenail plate and the other nail driving instrumentalities. Usually, also,some additional positioning means is provided for engaging the counterportion of the shoe to aid in this centering operation. The position ofthe shoe during this heel attaching operation is, however, chieflycontrolled by the operator. He moves the shoe in a horizontal plane intoa position, largely determined by his eye, which-he regards as correct,and then operates the treadle which sets into motion the nail drivinginstrumentalities. V I

T The position of a heel with reference to the median plane of a shoevaries considerably in different styles of shoes. In a shoe made on aso-ca'lled straight last, the heel may line up with the shoe, or theangle of divergence between the twomay not be great, but in a very highpercentage of shoes, particularly mens shoes, and more especially thosemade on crooked lasts or those having a decided swing, thecenter' lineof the heel makes a relatively large angle with the center line of theshoe. This angle is deterthe attachment of their heels that much of thecare, skill and judgment required of him will be eliminated, and theheels on successive shoes of any given size and style consequently willbe positioned with a high degree of uniformity.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawmined chiefly bythe operator and it is not an ings, and the novelfeatures will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cone portion of a last equippedwith a guiding element embodying a feature of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with parts in vertical section, illustratingmeans for positioning a shoe in a heeling machine in accordance withthis invention;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are front, side and bottom views, respectively, of ajack post mechanism equipped with a positioning or guiding elementembodying a feature of this invention;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing the invention applied toanother typeof jack post mechanism;

Fig. '7 is a rear elevation of the jack post shown in Fig. 6; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are plan views, partly in section, illustrating otherembodiments of the invention.

Referring first to Figs. 2 to 4, inclusive, the nail plateof a heelingmachine of a common commercial type is shown at 2, and the jack postmechanism is indicated in general at 3. It comprises a body memberhaving a dove-tail projection to fit into a corresponding groove in thesupport 4, and also includes a slide 5 in which a jack pin 6 is secured.This arrangement provides for both a backward and forward movement ofthe shoe, together with the pin 6 and slide 5, to 0 position the shoefor the heeling operation, and also for the swinging movement of theshoe in a horizontal plane, as above described. The heel 1 is positionedby any suitable gaging devices with equipped, so that its location withreference to the nail plate 2 and the other nail drivinginstrumentalities is predetermined and substantially fixed, althoughadjustable.

According to the present invention additional devices are provided tocooperate with each other in determining the angular position of thelast in a horizontal plane, one of .these devices being mounted in themachine and the other carried by the last. In the particular arrangementi1- lustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the forward end 'of the upper portion ofthe heel part of the last 8 is notched or cut away to receive a guideplate It. Preferably this plate is made of angular form in order to giveadded strength and to provide increased area for receiving the screws bywhich it is secured to the last. The guiding or positioning portion ofthis plate, however, consists of the upright part of it, provided with abroad, fiat. laterally disposed face extending at approximatewhich theheeling machine customarily 'is 1y right angles to the median plane ofthe last. In other respects this last may be of any suitable form, theparticular construction shown having the usual hard fiber reinforcingplate l2 and the customary thimble I3.

The positioning element provided in the machine to cooperate with thepart ill consists of a plate l4, secured to the front vertical face ofthe jack post body 3 by-means of screws l5. Preferably the lower portionof this plate is thickened and its rearward surface is bevelled, asshown at I6, Fig. 4, so as to provide a straight lower edge projectingsomewhat behind the adjacent portions of the plate.

In using this invention, the heel I is positioned in the machine in theusual manner, and the last is slipped on to the jack post mechanism withthe pin 6 inserted in the thimble l3. At this time the slide is pushedback away from the plate I4, but after the last has been placed in therelationship just described, it is then pulled forward, carrying theslide 5 and jack pin 6 with it, until the upright face of the plate it)strikes the rearward edge of the stationary positioning plate [4. Thiscontact with the parts It) and M stops any further forward movement ofthe shoe, but if the plate Ill does not strike the member !4 in such amanner that the entire edge of the latter is in engagement with theformer, then the forward pull on the shoe will tend to swing the shoeautomatically until such engagement is produced. This swing of the shoewill take place around the axis of the pin 6, and the adjustment of theparts should be such that when the members It] and M are in fullengagement with each other, the heel will be centered properly withreference to the nail plate 2. It will be evident that the fullengagement of the parts Ill and M with each other can occur only whenthe shoe is in a predetermined angular position in a horizontal plane.In other words, these parts determine this angular position in saidplane. They also cooperate with the'pin 6 to position the shoe correctlywith reference to the nailing instrumentalities and the devices thatposition the heel 7.

Care should, of course, be taken to accurately position the last thimble13 with reference to the shoe shaping surfaces of the last and to locatethe plate It) accurately with reference to said surfaces and the thimbleI3. 'These results can, however, be readily produced in a line of lastsdesigned for the manufacture of a given style and size of shoe. If theseoperations are accurately performed during the manufactureof the lasts,then the arrangement above described greatly reduces the care, skill andjudgment required in positioning the shoes in the heeling machine inorder to be sure that the heels on the entire line of shoes of any givenstyle or size are correctly located.

As above stated, it frequentlyhappens that the center line of the heelmakes a considerable angle with the median line of the last. The desireddepartures in the alinement of the parts may be made entirely bysuitable changes in the position of the heel gaging devices, but this isnot always possible or convenient, and in order to hold the shoe indifferent angular relationships to the nail plate or the heel, the plateHl may be located in different angular relationships to the longitudinalmedian plane of the last. Or the same result may be obtained somewhatmore conveniently by making either of the members I!) or M thicker atone side than the other. Such an arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 8 inwhich the part I8 corresponds to the plate In and is made wedge-shaped,or thicker at one edge than the other, so that when it is in fullengagement with the edge of the plate l4, it throws the median plane ofthe last 8 into a divergent position with reference to a vertical planeat right angles to the plate l4.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 9 in whichthe cooperating positioning members, instead of having straight or flatabutting surfaces, are made of angular formation. As shown in thisfigure the plate IE) has been replaced with a V-shaped plate 20 designedto fit into a complemental V-shaped notch 2| in the fixture I 4', thelatter member corresponding functionally to the fixture I 4. Thisangular shape of the cooperating surfaces 20 and 2! is of assistance incentering the guiding element on the plate properly in the stationaryfixture or guiding member secured to the machine, and thus correctlylocating the shoe.

In that type of heeling machine in which the shoe is supported in aninverted position during the heeling operation, the same guiding membersIE3 and I4 may be used, as illustrated in Fig. 6. In this arrangementthe plate In is secured to the last exactly as in the construction shownin Figs. 1 and 2. The jack post structure, however, is of a slightlydifferent form, including a body mem ber 22 having a concave uppersurface to receive a rocking and sliding block 23 to which the jack pin24 is secured. This is a jack post mechanism in common commercial use.The positioning plate or fixture I4 is secured to the member 22 inessentially the same relationship as in the construction illustrated inFig. 2 where it will be engaged by the plate ID on the last when theshoe is moved forward to position it for the heeling operation. It willbe understood that in this type of heeling machine the nail plate andthe heel positioning devices are located above the shoe, and the nailsare driven downwardly through the heel instead of upwardly, as in theconstruction previously described. The shoe positioning operations,however, are performed in the same manner in this machine as in thatshown in Fig. 2.

While I have herein shown and described typical embodiments of myinvention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied inother forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

1. A shoe last having a thimble to receive a jack pin, a lateral surfaceof the upper portion of the heel part of the last being provided withv ahorizontally extending recess, said recess having walls located at anangle to each other, and a metal plate secured to said last and havingsurfaces fitting against said walls of said recess.

2. A shoe last having a thimble to receive a jack pin, a lateral surfaceof the upper portion of the heel part of the last being provided with ahorizontally extending recess, said recess having walls located at anangle to each other, an angular metal plate located in said recess andhaving an approximately horizontal flange fitting against one of saidwalls and an approximately vertical flange fitting against the other,and means securing said metal plate to the heel part of the last.

3. A shoe last having a thimble to receive a jack pin, a lateral surfaceof the upper portion of the heel part of the last being provided with ahorizontally extending recess in the forward end of the upper part oi?the heel portion of said last, and a flanged metal plate mounted in saidrecess and secured to the heel part of the last.

4. A shoe last having a thimble to receive a jack pin, and a positioningelement secured to the upper portion of the heel part of said last andprovided with a laterally directed V-shaped guiding surface.

5. A shoe last having a thimble to receive a jack pin, and a positioningelement secured to the upper portion of the heel part of said last andprovided with a laterally directed V-shaped guiding surface, the apex ofsaid surface being located at the forward end of said heel part of thelast.

6. A shoe last having a thimlole to receive a jack pin, and apositioning element secured to the upper forward end of the heel part ofsaid last and having an approximately upright positioning surface at thefront thereof extending diagonally with reference to the longitudinalmedian plane of the last toward one side face of the last.

AUSTIN NACESKI.

